Pulut Panggang with Nyonya Chang Filling (Spiced Minced Meat Filling)

Glutinous rice enclosing a savoury filling, wrapped in banana leaf and char grilled. That is basically what Pulut Panggang is. The most common filling is spicy dried prawns mixed with grated coconut. However in this recipe, not only have I omitted the santan in the glutinous rice, I have also replaced the traditional spicy prawn filling with Nyonya chang filling. This is not your usual Peranakan Pulut Panggang or Rempah Udang as most commonly known. I wanted this version to taste more like Nyonya chang but with that smokey flavour of char grilled banana leaves.

IngredientsPulut:

  • 6 cups glutinous rice
  • 6 cups water
  • 1½ – 2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp oil
  • 10 g ground white pepper to taste
  • 50 dried blue pea flowers
  • 100 ml water

Filling:

  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil for frying
  • 500 g diced big onions
  • 4 Tbsp chopped garlic
  • 700 g minced pork or chicken
  • 12 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in hot water
  • 1 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 cup chopped spring onions
  • 60 g candied winter melon diced

Dry Ingredients:

  • 60 – 70 g ground coriander
  • 15 g five spice powder
  • 15 – 20 g black pepper
  • 8 g ground nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 ½ – 2 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp concentrated chicken stock

Note:

  • If using freshly grounded spices adjust amount as taste will be stronger. You could use spices like ground cloves and cinnamon.
  • Fillings can be made in advance and refrigerated.

InstructionsInstructions for Pulut:

  1. Wash and rinse glutinous rice a few times until water is clear. Add water to rice in a rice cooker.
  2. Add salt and oil, mix well and turn on rice cooker.
  3. While waiting for rice to cook, boil dried blue pea flower in water and extract the blue water.
  4. Once rice is cooked, scoop out and transfer to a bowl.
  5. Scatter blue pea water over the cooked rice and sprinkle pepper. Mix lightly.

Instructions for Filling:

  1. Mix wet ingredients well in a bowl.
  2. Pan fry dry ingredients for about 2 minutes.
  3. Heat pan and add vegetable oil. Fry diced onions until translucent. Add chopped garlic and stir well.
  4. Add minced pork or chicken and continue to fry.
  5. Add mushroom water from soaked shiitake mushrooms.
  6. Add ground coriander, nutmeg and five spice powder and mix well.
  7. Add diced shiitake mushrooms (that was soaked in hot water). Add chopped spring onions and parsley.
  8. Add wet ingredients and fry till meat is cooked.
  9. Finally add diced candied winter melon and mix well.
  10. Taste and add additional spices and mushroom water, if required. Set aside to cool.

Assembly:

  1. Lay a piece of softened banana leaf (matt side facing up) and place small pieces of pandan leaf in the centre.
  2. Spread some cooked glutinous rice evenly on top of the pandan leaves.
  3. Add filling on top of rice and spread evenly.
  4. Lift one side of banana leaf, fold over rice and roll into a cylindrical shape firmly.
  5. Press both ends flat and secure with toothpicks.
  6. Heat up a griddle pan and place a few wrapped pulut panggang on it.
  7. Turn over a few times until the banana leaves are slightly charred.

Recipe Notes

  1. The banana leaves can be softened by heating over the griddle.
  2. The Pulut Panggang can also be cooked using an Airfryer instead of a griddle pan.